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Career night for RB Braxton Ash leads Colleyville Heritage over Lovejoy in season opener

Colleyville Heritage reacts as they hang on to win by three points as Colleyville Heritage High School hosted Lovejoy High School as part of the Tom Landry Classic at Eagle Stadium in Allen on Saturday, August 31, 2019. (Stewart F. House/Special Contributor)(Stewart F. House / Special Contributor)

ALLEN - Colleyville Heritage running back Braxton Ash said a second-half emphasis on running the ball was his team's best option against Lovejoy on Saturday. It turned out to be the right choice, and a textbook example of how a running back and his linemen can get stronger on a hot August night.

Ash rushed for a career-high 188 yards as the anchor of Colleyville Heritage's strategy of winning field position and possession in a 13-10 win over Lovejoy to conclude the 20th Annual Tom Landry Classic at Eagle Stadium. Ash rushed for 156 yards in the second half, including a six-yard gain on a fourth-and-one play at the Lovejoy 25-yard line to ice the win with under two minutes remaining. Ash was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player.

"It was execution at halftime. Coach (Joe Willis) told us to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball," Ash said. "It was our best option, and our linemen won it."

Colleyville Heritage (1-0) scored the final points of the game with 6:31 left in the third quarter when Chad Turner caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Smith. The score capped a 15-play, 96-yard drive to open the second half. Turner finished with 114 yards receiving on nine catches, the fourth 100-yard game of his career.

Colleyville Heritage's defense took care of the rest, allowing just three first downs in the second half. Lovejoy's most serious scoring threat in the second half ended with 7:36 remaining when Josh Dobbins made an interception at the Colleyville Heritage 8-yard line and returned the pick 50 yards. Dobbins was named the Defensive MVP.

Colleyville Heritage marched 72 yards on its opening drive and capped it with a five-yard touchdown run by Isaac Shabay. Lovejoy took advantage of a 16-yard punt to tie the game at 7-7 on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Ralph Rucker to Reid Westerveldt with 9:15 left in the second quarter.

Rucker rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries on Lovejoy's last drive of the second quarter, setting up Tyler Koop for a 21-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining to give Lovejoy a 10-7 halftime lead. Rucker had 188 total yards of offense, but also threw an interception to Ryan Ward in the first half. Lovejoy (0-1) dropped to 1-3 in the past four years at the classic.